October 6, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 225 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• European Union nations reached an agreement yesterday in Brussels on a new package of sanctions against Russia, according to a statement from the Czech rotating E.U. presidency. The sanctions include a yet-unspecified price cap on Russian oil, an extended import ban on steel products, wood pulp, paper, machinery and appliances, chemicals, plastic and cigarettes from Russia, and a ban on providing IT, engineering, and legal services to Russian entities. [more]
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree yesterday ordering the creation of a state company to take operational control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant -- the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which Russian troops have occupied for months. [more]
• The New York Times cites unnamed U.S. intelligence sources as saying that the U.S. intelligence community believes the Ukrainian government approved the August car bomb attack that killed the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist in Moscow. According to the Times report, the U.S. took no part in the attack and was not aware of it ahead of time. [more]

OIL SUPPLY | In a move that prompted immediate oil price increases and concerns for effects on the global economy, the OPEC+ group of oil-exporting countries voted yesterday to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day starting in November. [more]

THAILAND | Officials in Thailand say at least 34 people were killed today, including at least 23 children, when a gunman opened fire in a childcare center in the northeastern town of Nong Bua Lamphu. Authorities say the gunman, who later killed himself, was a former police officer. [more]

U.S. CRIME | Criminal offense data for 2021 released by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday says that while aggregate estimated violent crime in the U.S. decreased 1% from 2020 to 2021, the estimated number of murders increased 4.3% and robbery decreased 8.9% over the same period. [more]

HURRICANE IAN | U.S. President Joe Biden was joined by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio yesterday as he toured portions of Florida heavily damaged by Hurricane Ian. Biden and DeSantis each praised the state and federal coordination on recovery efforts. [more]

SYRIA | Syrian state TV reports that U.S. special operations forces conducted a raid on a government-held village in the country's Hasakeh province overnight, killing at least one person and capturing others. [more]

NORTH KOREA | South Korean military officials say North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the waters off its east coast today -- its sixth round of missile launches in the past two weeks. The launches came as the U.S. redeployed an aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula in response to the North's missile tests. [more]

GREECE | Coast guard officials in Greece say at least 15 people died in two separate migrant boat sinkings off the country's coasts today -- one off the eastern island of Lesbos and one near the island of Kythira. Search and rescue efforts are reported to be still underway at both sites. [more]

MEXICO | Police in the southern Mexico state of Guerrero say 18 people were killed by unknown gunmen yesterday in the town of San Miguel Totolapan. Among those killed were the town's mayor, Conrado Mendoza, and his father, a former mayor of the town. [more]

ISRAEL | The Israeli government has reportedly rejected Lebanon's proposed revisions to a U.S.-mediated maritime border demarcation plan aimed at allowing both Israel and Lebanon to extract gas in or around a disputed Mediterranean gas reserve. [more]

U.K. ECONOMY | Ratings agency Fitch yesterday lowered its credit rating for British government debt from "stable" to "negative." The move follows a similar recent downgrade from Standard & Poor's. [more]

NOBEL PRIZES | French author Annie Ernaux was named the winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature today for "the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.” [more]

BASEBALL | The Associated Press reports that the fan who caught Aaron Judge's record-setting 62nd home run ball earlier this week has been offered $2 million for the ball by the owner of a sports memorabilia auction house. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1927, The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, premiered in New York City, introducing the sound era of motion pictures. [more history]